Purified National Party

The Purified National Party (GNP) was a conservative political party in South Africa that was active from 1935 to 1948. The party was formed by a hardline faction of Afrikaner nationalists, led by D.F. Malan, who strongly opposed the merger of the National Party with the South African Party to form the United Party. Malan and 19 other MPs defected from the National Party to form the "Purified National Party", which spent the next 14 years in opposition. The start of World War II led to a split in the United Party, with J.B.M. Hertzog's nationalist wing merging with the GNP to form the Reunited National Party (HNP). The HNP merged into the National Party in 1948.